


Seven Snogs

by EllieBiel



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, LiveJournal Prompt, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22185463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieBiel/pseuds/EllieBiel
Summary: A seven part series written in 2006 for LJ community7snogs.
Relationships: Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Sunny Side Up

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #7: "milk"

Duo wouldn't admit it to too many people, but he did actually enjoy cooking. Not that he was any good at it; he could never keep the eggs from turning brown on the edges and he had yet to broil a steak that wasn't part charcoal briquette when he was done, but it was _fun,_ building something from shapeless ingredients, and it could be challenging as well, like trying to judge what constituted a _pinch_ of salt or figuring out how hard to squeeze the tube of butter to turn pancakes into miniature Goldilocks.

What he hated more than anything was cleaning up afterwards. It wasn't that he hated to get his hands dirty, it was more that by then, he'd already gotten the reward (burnt as it almost always was). With cleaning up, all he had to show for his efforts was a clean place to work the next time. He appreciated having clean counters, but that was a reward for another day.

So the first time he'd issued a tentative invitation to Heero to try out Duo's not-quite-famous egg and eggplant quiche ("What?" he'd asked Heero, "tell me that they weren't meant to go together!"), he was pleasantly surprised when Heero not only ate his entire portion (and asked for seconds), he also offered to help Duo clean up afterwards. With someone to shoulder the burden and to chat with, Duo was almost sorry to see the last dish dried and put away. He'd been unable to stop grinning when Heero had told him they'd have to do it again some time.

Duo winced as the pan clattered on the stove, and he peeked out of the kitchen to see if he'd woken Heero. They'd had dinner together last night, proclaimed the carmelized onion pizza a success and the coconut bread a dismal failure, and this time after the dish towels had been hung to dry, they'd continued their conversation in the living room. Duo had lost complete track of the time until Heero's head started nodding forward. There had been no argument when Duo asked him to stay.

Using one hand, he cracked open two eggs into the mixing bowl and was pleased to see that this time he'd managed to keep the shells out. He'd hoped to have breakfast ready before Heero woke and joined him, but at least there was a pot of coffee brewing when a sleepy Heero shuffled into the kitchen. Duo was reaching into the refrigerator for the milk and when he closed the door he caught Heero rubbing the back of his head before he stretched his arms overhead and yawned.

It was cute, endearing even, but that wasn't what had Duo standing there gaping. It was the flash of skin visible as Heero's shirt rode up, and Duo managed to avert his gaze before Heero noticed. He turned to pour the milk in with the eggs, but in his haste he hit the carton against the bowl, tipping it over and leaving both Duo and the floor covered with raw egg. He slammed the carton down harder than he'd intended and ripped a long length of paper towel from the roll. It was at least twice as much as he needed, but his good humor was rapidly dissipating.

"Sorry," he muttered as he bent down to wipe it up. "Looks like I woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning."

Heero got down on the floor with Duo, tore off a strip of the paper towel, and folded it over Duo's bangs, sliding it down the length of the strands. "Got some in your hair," he said.

Duo wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand and folded over his wad of towels to keep the egg from dripping back out, "yeah, well," he shrugged, as if to say _what can you do?_ He returned to the mess on the floor with a clean section of paper towel, but he still could feel Heero's gaze on him and he looked up again. "Is there more?"

"Yes," Heero said, and it sounded to Duo as if Heero wasn't fully awake yet.

"Well my hands are full," he said, lifting the towels as much as he dared. "So feel free."

That morning, on the floor and over a combination of egg and paper towel, was the first time Heero ever kissed him.


	2. Two Peas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #1: "uniform"

Duo's cooking had gotten better; there was no overnight improvement of epic proportions, but after three breakfasts in a row without a single scorched egg, he was feeling quite pleased with himself, especially as every one of them had been with Heero.

It was nice, Duo mused as he surveyed the contents of his refrigerator, to have someone to cook for besides himself, and even nicer to have said person willing to help out in the kitchen. Heero was nearby, ready to hand Duo the ingredients he needed, and yet he was never in Duo's way, keeping clear of the stove and anywhere Duo's elbows might be moving. It was pleasant without being stifling, and Duo enjoyed it immensely. He hadn't even minded the gentle ribbing he'd gotten for his insistence that all canned goods be arranged in the cupboards according to size and color. It appealed to the neat and orderly part of his brain. He knew that if he wanted pineapple for a glazed ham, it was on the second shelf with the blue labeled cans, and if he was after vacuum packed artichoke hearts, he'd find them on the yellow shelf.

At least Heero hadn't given him a hard time about the fact that Duo kept a healthy supply of canned foods. His cooking was improving, but that didn't mean that he didn't need a backup plan in case of disasters like the lobster bisque. It wasn't that it had tasted bad, but he'd been distracted while adding the sherry (and that was Heero's fault for wearing a shirt with half the buttons undone). Whoever said that sautéing would burn off the alcohol content had obviously never had a cooking sherry hangover the next day. Chicken broth (red shelf) and toast had served them well for lunch as they'd both slept until nearly noon. 

Duo couldn't help smiling at the memory. Heero had looked pitiable when he'd woken up, with his red-rimmed eyes and stray bits of lint in his hair from using one of Duo's sweatshirts as a pillow. These days Heero didn't bother wearing a shirt when he crashed on the couch, but Duo wasn't about to complain.

He decided that he'd test his luck with poaching eggs again; he'd yet to manage getting the egg whites just right, and he pulled the carton out only to frown at in in puzzlement. It felt rather off balance, and he realized why as soon as he flipped open the lid. The past few days, Heero had been in the kitchen with him, handing him ingredients, so Duo hadn't touched the carton in all that time. As soon as Duo saw the arrangement of eggs, he started to laugh. It seemed that he wasn't the only one with a few idiosyncrasies in the kitchen.

When Heero had given him the eggs, he'd taken them from alternating sides of the carton, so rather than the remaining eggs being clustered on one side (which Duo was used to and which shifted most of the weight to the end that faced the back of the refrigerator), they were located in the center with the empty cups symmetric on either side. When Heero joined him in the kitchen, his face adorably confused, Duo couldn't resist abandoning the eggs and kissing Heero soundly.

Two hours later, they had frozen waffles for breakfast.


	3. All's Fair in Love, War, and Killing Zombies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #2: "jealousy"

Duo was beginning to really hate Frank West.

It was his own fault for introducing Heero to Dead Rising and the joys of bloody animated combat. The turning point had been when Heero had discovered he could use a cash register as part of his arsenal against the relentless swarm of zombies.

Duo was tempted to trip the circuit breaker just to get Heero to remember that there was more in Duo's apartment than a video game console and a flat screen TV.

Although the graphics were impressive, Duo pulled his feet up onto the sofa and turned to watch Heero instead. On screen, Frank West was using a street sign as a scythe, but it was the little furrow between Heero's brows that Duo found most interesting, and the way his lips would split into a grin when he found a new, more interesting weapon to use.

It was the way he looked years younger, so different from the normally serious Heero that he'd gotten to know. Immaturity and Heero Yuy were two words Duo would never have put together before, but despite his annoyance with his own success in convincing Heero that video games were _fun_ \- he couldn't get angry. He could, however, reach out and trace a fingertip along the shell of Heero's ear.

It was almost disappointing the way Heero responded, tipping his head toward the opposite shoulder and not taking his eyes from the screen. Duo licked his lips as Heero leaned forward, his fingers dancing over the controller. If that was a challenge, it was one he willingly accepted. Duo arched his back over the arm of the sofa and yawned, stretching out his leg and sliding his foot behind Heero where he could feel the warmth of his derriere through the sock. He waited five seconds before wiggling his toes.

Heero was good, Duo noted. He didn't even flinch that time.

Duo lifted his foot and it took him three tries to get it under the back of Heero's shirt. When he traced the curve of Heero's spine, he got a reaction, but Heero still didn't turn to look at him.

This game was far more interesting than the one he'd paid sixty dollars for.

He removed his foot from Heero's shirt and waited. He knew what he wanted to do next, but he hesitated before carrying out the next stage of his plan, and in the end he chickened out and rested his foot on Heero's thigh instead. He could feel Heero's muscles flex and thought that either video games provided more of a workout than they'd been given credit for, or he'd scored another hit on the Heero-meter.

Duo pulled his foot back and crossed his legs. He'd never noticed that Heero had a small freckle on his left earlobe. He leaned forward to get a closer look, and he felt triumphant when Heero shuddered as Duo's breath teased the inside of his ear. He hadn't expected such a sudden victory, but he wasn't about to complain when Heero turned and fused his mouth to Duo's. He relaxed into the kiss right away, letting his fingers twine around Heero's hair.

Screw Frank West.


	4. Giraffe on Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #6: "argument"

Duo looked at his handiwork and frowned. "I don't know," he said, leaning forward to dab a little more red on the hair and nose. "I think I need to try it just one more time."

Heero started to argue, but Duo's cry of protest silenced him and he huffed out a sigh before resigning himself to Duo's resuming his artistic endeavors. He still hadn't quite understood how this job had fallen to _Duo_. It wasn't as if Duo had ever expressed much of an interest in art or in children, but he didn't seem to mind volunteering his time, and Heero suspected that being used as a test canvas was a perk Duo was enjoying just a little too much.

So far he'd managed to acquire a butterfly on his left cheek, a dolphin across his forehead, a Pikachu on his chin, and, on his right cheek, the clown Duo was currently working on.

If this face paint didn't wash off as easily as Duo had assured him it would, he was not going to be pleased.

When Duo had first asked him, Heero had assumed Duo was kidding. It had been completely random and out of the blue, and he'd refused to be a part of it until Duo had reminded him of all the nights that he'd let Heero hog the video game controller.

At least no one other than Duo was going to see him like this.

Duo was frowning again, and Heero thought it was a bad sign until Duo looked at him with a gleam in his eyes and a grin. Then he _knew_ he was in trouble.

"I still need to practice," he said. "The clown looks like he was painted by Picasso or Dali."

"Kids should be exposed to different types of art."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Heero, that may be true, but what four year old can you think of that wants a burning giraffe on their cheek?"

"One with good taste?"

Duo ignored that comment. "Unbutton your shirt."

Heero eyed the paintbrush suspiciously. "Why?"

"Like I said, I need more practice."

"No. Oh, no, you are not painting any other part of my body - Duo, I said _no!"_

Duo had put the brush between his teeth and was unbuttoning Heero's shirt with the ease of someone who'd done it before. "I'll make it up to you," he mumbled around the handle as he slid the shirt off Heero's shoulders. He removed the brush from his mouth, looked up at Heero, and attempted a leer. "Promise." He grinned and pulled his chair closer to Heero. "You won't regret this."

"I doubt that," Heero muttered.

Five paintings later, Duo proclaimed he was finished. "Want to see?"

"Not really."

Duo ducked his head and kissed Heero on his unpainted nose. "You were a really good sport. I really will make it up to you."

"Duo, when people talk about kissing and making up, this isn't exactly what they mean." He lifted his chin and leaned forward to plant a kiss of his own on Duo's lips. "But...it's okay."

It was. He felt silly, a little embarrassed, and Duo had almost poked him in the eye with the brush at one point, but being this close to Duo had been nice. Heero leaned forward so he could reach behind Duo's neck and bring him in closer for a much more satisfying kiss, leaving Duo with a bit of smudged Pikachu on his face. It was too bad it wasn't edible.

Duo was carefully putting away the paints, and he brought his brush and the coffee cup he'd been using to rinse it off to the sink. After a moment, he turned around looking a little guilty.

Heero felt a sneaking suspicion coming on. "What?"

"Well, it's like this," Duo said, "I really appreciate your letting me practice. It was a lot of fun, and I think I did get a lot better. You'll notice if you check the one between your shoulder blades before you get in the shower. And by the way, the one near your neck _is_ a burning giraffe, and I think it would look cool on any preschooler."

Duo cleared his throat and began backing out of the kitchen and toward the bathroom. "And I know you'll see the humor in this-"

Heero got to his feet and began advancing on him. "Tell me these are water based paints."

"Oh! Yes, they are!" Duo looked relieved, but he continued his retreat toward the bathroom. "It's just that-" He turned and fled the short distance to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. "There is no children's fair this weekend, and I've got dibs on the shower!"

Heero stared at the door in disbelief as Duo's words sank in, and for a minute he thought of all the ways he would carry out his plans of revenge against Duo for this prank, or whatever this was. He shook his head, and started back toward the kitchen.

He stopped.

He hadn't heard Duo turn the lock, and really, Heero had far more need of the shower than Duo did, _and_ this was Heero's apartment. As a good host, it was his duty to make sure Duo knew where the towels were located. He returned to bathroom door, and a slow grin spread across his face. Duo had told him to check out the burning giraffe, after all, and it would be remiss of him if he didn't do it - right now, before he forgot.

He turned the knob.


	5. Pins and Needles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #3: "embrace"

Duo ran his fingers through the strands of flyaway hair tickling his face, partly in an attempt to tame them so they wouldn't make his nose twitch but mostly because he enjoyed the feel of it. There was little else he could do at the moment; he was, for all intents and purposes, well and truly trapped on the sofa unless he wanted to roll Heero off him and onto the floor, but at the moment he was content to remain where he was.

They'd crossed a line in their relationship last night, or at had at least come very close to scuffing it out. He'd known Heero would follow him into the bathroom and hadn't really planned on getting in the shower, but when Heero had barged in after him, shirtless and looking at him with the most wicked gleam in his eye, he realized just how small Heero's bathroom really was.

He'd felt a rush of warmth through him as Heero placed his hand on the wall beside him and reached into the small linen cabinet for a couple of towels. Heero had turned away, leaving Duo feeling breathless, and he'd invited Duo to join him while he turned on the water. His tone had been teasing, and the exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows reminiscent of Groucho Marx, but underneath, Duo had suspected Heero might not have minded too much if Duo had said yes.

He hadn't, though, and he wasn't sure if the brief flash of disappointment he saw in Heero's face was merely a reflection of his own feelings.

They'd chosen to stick to water and cola that night, forgoing alcoholic beverages through a mutual, unspoken agreement, but Duo had felt lightheaded nonetheless, and throughout the night, every time Heero's arm brushed against his, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

It was the first night they'd spent together where Duo felt like he was on a first date.

Despite that, conversation hadn't been stilted, and they'd still laughed together and provided Mystery Science Theater style commentary for the movie that they'd found while channel surfing. When Heero's arm had come to rest on the back of the sofa, Duo had swallowed and let his head drop onto Heero's shoulder.

He knew they'd laugh about it later, at how nervous they'd been and how cautious Heero had been before finally dropping his arm around Duo's shoulder. The slow caress of his fingers had sent a shiver down Duo's spine, and then Heero had abruptly stopped, leaving Duo equal parts confused and relieved with just a dash of disappointment thrown in for good measure.

He'd laughed aloud when he realized Heero had fallen asleep.

Duo's nose twitched again and he stroked Heero's hair as if he were petting a cat. Last night had also been the first time they'd slept together - _sleep_ being the operative word - and it had been surprisingly comfortable. Not counting the crick in his neck from lying half on and half off the sofa a good portion of the night.

He twisted his body a little and hooked a leg over Heero's to drag them back onto the cushion. Heero mumbled something and then banged his head against Duo's chin, making Duo see stars for a moment before Heero brushed Duo's hair away from his brow.

"You ok?"

Heero looked so concerned that Duo answered in the most direct way possible, by holding Heero's face in both hands and kissing him lightly before urging Heero to lie back down on top of him. The arm that had been on the inside of the sofa was starting to tingle as the blood rushed back through it, but he gave Heero a squeeze and let his hand remain on the small of Heero's back. Heero's shirt was a wrinkled mess, twisted about his torso, and the tip of Duo's pinky lay right at the hem, on a small bit of exposed skin.

In a minute he was going to need to get up, have a glass of water, and flex his fingers until the pins and needles went away, but for now all he wanted was to savor the feel of warm breath against his neck and Heero's body pressed against his own.

His voice was hoarse when he replied, quite honestly, "Never better."


	6. Pretty Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #5: "rumor"

"Here's something interesting," Duo called over to Heero from where he was reclining on the sofa. "You ever wonder why people kiss under the mistletoe?"

Heero looked up from the beribboned basket he was working on, holding his fingers firmly against the felt bunny ears he'd just glued to the handle. "I have," he admitted, "but I'm wondering more why you're asking me _now."_

Duo waved the magazine he was reading. "It's not my fault you save these things forever. It's not even from _last_ December, it's from two years before that. And," he added with a stern lift of his eyebrow, "you know that the December issues always come out in October, so you've had this for two and half years now. Why is it still sitting on your end table?"

Heero picked up two lines of felt he'd cut with different pinking shears, chose the one with the zigzag edges, and positioned it on the small yellow ellipse lying on the table to his right. It was a little too long, but he'd cut off the excess after the glue had dried. "Why are you reading it?" he countered.

"Because it was there, duh, and don't think I won't figure it out." He watched Heero carefully apply a small dab of glue to the middle and ends of the felt and waited until it was pressed firmly in place before speaking again. "So answer my first question, at least." At Heero's pointed glare he laughed. "Oh, yeah, right, you did. Do you want to know why, or have you already read this article a hundred times?"

"Yes," Heero replied, choosing another felt strip in a different color. "Yes, I want to know why, not yes I've read it already. I haven't read the entire magazine, you know."

"Oh, ho!" Duo exclaimed. "Even more reason for me to find out your secrets. Maybe you have this weird quirk where you can't throw something away until you've read it from front to back. That's a possibility," he added with a nod. He shook out the magazine, cleared his throat, and began reading. "First of all, did you know that mistletoe has long been regarded as having aphrodisiac properties? I wonder what they did with it back then. Eat it? Drink it? Make it into a paste and paint their bedroom doorways with it?" He read a bit more and frowned. "An aphrodisiac, and a fertility herb, and that's all this tells me? What good is that?" he huffed, turning the page with a flick of his finger. "Still doesn't tell me why you have to kiss under it."

"Maybe kissing under it was how they used it as an aphrodisiac," Heero suggested. He sorted through some of the smaller felt shapes and chose a half circle for the top of the egg he was decorating.

"I guess it beats rhinoceros horns and dried salamanders. Eww, can you believe people have actually _eaten_ some of that crap?"

"Yes," Heero said. "People often do crazy things to get what they want."

"Like sex."

Heero inclined his head. "In this case, yes, but have you ever considered that the sex might just be the means to an end?"

"You have a theory on this? Do share."

"Not a theory," Heero shrugged, "just a thought. What purpose does sex serve," he gave Duo a pointed look, _"besides_ the obvious hedonistic pleasure. Assuming it's any good," he added under his breath. "Someone might be looking for security or a provider, and they use sex as a lure."

"Hate to break it to you, Heero, but no one is buying the cow when the milk is free. That kind of chivalry isn't just dead, it probably didn't exist back in ancient times, either. Not from anyone who could get away with it."

"People _are_ pretty much the same throughout history," Heero agreed. The felt egg was done, and he picked up a pair of manicure scissors to trim the overhanging felt.

Duo dropped the magazine back on the end table and rolled onto his stomach to watch Heero glue the egg to the Easter basket. He lifted the cover of the magazine, skimmed the table of contents, and then picked it up again to check out the page on stained glass sun catchers, even though he had no intention of ever making one. He glanced over at Heero again. "You're a pretty deep guy, Heero."

Heero picked up his finished basket, checked it out from all angles, and set it back on the table before cleaning up. He said nothing until all the felt was folded and stored in a Ziploc bag, the tip of the Elmer's glue was wiped and twisted closed, and the glitter tubes were all placed back in their plastic tray. "Play your cards right and someday you'll find out just how much." Once the supplies were returned to the small plastic tote used for that purpose, he headed to the couch where Duo was watching him with amusement. Brushing his lips against Duo's ear, he murmured, "you won't even need to feed me dried salamander first."


	7. Apple of My Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #4: "sunset"

Although Duo had been at Heero's a few times, for dinner they usually ended up at Duo's apartment where he could guiltlessly make a mess of his kitchen. He was fairly sure that Heero would gladly let him experiment at his apartment - the guy did help with the cleaning up each and every time at Duo’s – but Duo felt more comfortable working with his own gas range. He preferred judging the stovetop burners by the size of the flame rather than a setting on the dial. Granted, Heero's glossy, smooth surface electric range would be a lot easier to clean afterwards, but since Heero didn't seem to mind scrubbing the grates (and he did a far better job than Duo ever seemed able to), there had been no reason to change the status quo.

Until tonight.

While Heero busied himself preparing dinner - and he'd very clearly informed Duo that although he appreciated the offer, it was his first time cooking for Duo and he'd rather do it himself, just this once - Duo was banished to the living room. Duo understood that desire very well, even if Heero's refusal to tell him what he was making had made him insanely curious. He removed his shoes to stretch his legs out on Heero's overstuffed sofa. Which had never been a problem before, but now it reminded him of the last time he'd been here, on this very same sofa, when Heero had delivered a line that had kept Duo up most of the night.

He shifted uncomfortably at his unintentional - and more than apt - innuendo.

Play your cards right, Heero had said, and you just might find out. Despite the offhanded, almost joking manner the line had been delivered in, Duo had been unable to stop thinking about the word _deep_ and if Heero had meant it had seemed at the time. The two of them had slept together before, but only in the sense of closing their eyes and drifting into a state of semi-unconsciousness while occupying the same piece of furniture. Duo hadn't really given serious thought to anything more than that, too comfortable with how things were between them and too unwilling to introduce something that could upset the apple cart.

He was quite fond of those apples.

What bothered him the most was his inability to ask Heero what he'd meant. If Heero _hadn't_ meant it that way, then Duo bringing it up could make things awkward between them. If Heero _had_ meant it that way, was Duo supposed to make the next move? It didn't help that Heero's voice could make anything sound suggestive.

Duo wasn't even sure exactly what sort of relationship they had. They spent a lot of time together, and Heero crashed at his place often (sometimes, although less frequently, the reverse was true) - but then Duo had done the same with drinking buddies from community college. Of course, none of them had even tried to kiss Duo, nor had Duo wanted them to. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea if Heero had gone to college or what he did for work - there were so many things about Heero that Duo didn't know, and it had never bothered him before. Heero was just Heero, and Duo enjoyed spending time with him.

It had been raining the day they'd met in the parking lot of the local movie theater. Duo's car hadn't started, and he'd suspected that he'd left his headlights on. While he had jumper cables in his trunk, he still needed a second car with a good battery, and that's when he'd hurried over to the person inserting a key in the lock of a nearby car.

Heero had looked more like a drowned rat than Duo felt, and he'd stared at Duo's face for several seconds. Beneath the hood of his sweatshirt, Duo had blinked back at him, and was just starting to get a little testy when Heero had nodded and opened his car door. While he put his key in the ignition, Duo had run back over to his car to pop the hood, and his teeth were chattering by the time the cables were connected to the terminals. Duo had been overjoyed when his engine roared to life, and he discovered when he’d climbed out of his car that Heero had already disconnected the clamps from his own battery. While Duo did the same to his car, Heero had just stood there, rain streaming from his hair all over his face and neck, making Duo feel a little uncomfortable as he put the cables back in his trunk.

Duo had barely touched the handle of the driver’s side door when Heero had asked if Duo already had plans or if he might like to stop by this little diner on Belmont Street. According to Heero, they served a decent grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. The question had caught Duo completely off guard, but even though he was eager to get out of the pouring rain, there had just been something about Heero that day that made him think he couldn’t imagine wanting anything more than grilled cheese and tomato soup. He hadn't even known Heero's name until after they'd driven, in separate cars, to Belmont Street. Thinking of how cold it had been that day made Duo shiver despite the warmth of Heero’s apartment. Duo grabbed one of the throw pillows, one with a crudely embroidered but brilliantly colored sunset and something that was probably a horse in a pasture. He wrapped his arms around it and wondered if he really needed the details of Heero's life in order to know him.

He smiled as he thought of the eggs in his refrigerator, with its two rows of three each, dead center in the carton, and decided that no, he didn't.

Heero peeked his head out of the kitchen to tell Duo he could come into the kitchen now, and the look on his face was very much like it had been when he'd invited Duo to the Belmont. Duo had almost expected to see grilled cheese sandwiches and steaming cups of tomato soup when he sat down, but instead there was the scent of pepper steak in the air and two wooden bowls at the table. Duo sat down and waited for Heero to do the same before picking up his silverware.

Inside the bowl was a bed of Romaine lettuce, filled with diced celery, bits of fruit, and walnuts. Duo felt a stirring in his gut at the obvious concern on Heero's face.

"It's Waldorf salad, but I can make Caesar instead if you'd prefer." Heero got up from his chair abruptly – so abruptly that his elbow upset his bowl and flipped it over on the table.

Duo shook his head and placed a calming hand over Heero’s. "This is good." He poked his fork into one of the apples strewn over the tablecloth. He chewed it slowly and then grinned, and in return he was rewarded with a warm, relieved smile. "It's great, actually. Really great, Heero." 

Heero carefully scooped his salad into the empty bowl. It looked like he was ready to toss it out, so Duo took the bowl from him and switched it with his own, gesturing with his fork for Heero to sit.

Heero did.

Duo picked up another forkful of salad, but as he brought it to his mouth he changed his mind. He got to his feet and walked to to Heero's chair, then cupped Heero’s face in his hands and kissed him thoroughly. Heero looked a little dazed when Duo returned to his seat. 

"What was that for?"

Duo took a bite of his salad and shrugged one shoulder. It hurt his cheeks to attempt chewing with such a big smile on his face, but he couldn't help it. Heero looked so adorably befuddled. 

"Let's just say, Heero, that I really, _really,_ like apples."


End file.
